Shoes



Aug. 9,1960 R. LEWIS 2,948,070

SHOES Filed June 2, 1958 INVENTOR Para 1 EW 8 ATTO Y United States Patent SHOES 'Ruth Lewis, 130 East End Ave., New York, N .Y.

Filed June 2, 1958, Ser. No. 739,311

3 Claims. (Cl. 36-25) This invention relates to an improvement in shoes and more particularly it is the object of the present invention to provide a shoe in which the vamp, or front portion of the upper, of the shoe is made in two parts so that the surface part, or surface vamp, may be removed and replaced, or removed and repeatedly interchanged by the wearer with supplementary pieces, or supplementary vamps, designed for this purpose, while the base vamp remains part of the permanent structure of the shoe.

This invention provides that the vamp or forward part of the shoe upper may be composed of vinyl plastic, or similar non-rigid plastic, or of a natural or synthetic rubber compound or mix which may or may not be reinforced or coated with other materials, or by other materials by their qualities appropriate to this use, and the material selected is then molded, extruded, shaped, pressed or sewed as the case may be, in such fashion that it turns up and back upon itself to form a flat border piece. The surface detachable Vamps are shaped and if necessary treated, e.g. stiffening, to permit superimposition. Their edges may or may not include wire, a flexible banding or an added thickness of their own composition, and they will slide under the rolled edge or resilient clasp. The surface Vamps need not be of the same composition as the base vamp. However, they may be, as in a case of leather used on leather. It will be observed that removal of the surface vamp would not make the shoe unfit for wear. The foregoing description of the nature and use of surface vamps applies as well to supplementary vamps.

The foregoing and following descriptions are intended to be illustrative, not limiting, in nature.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side view of a shoe having a base vamp in accordance with the invention.

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of Figure 1 taken along the line 22 thereof.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of one form of supplegmentary vamp in accordance with the invention. Referring to the drawings, the composite vamp of a shoe is denoted generally by the numeral while the base vamp is denoted by the numeral 10'. According to this invention, the vamp is molded or extruded or shaped or sewed or otherwise formed to turn back upon itself to form folds 11 along eachtransverse edge thereof. The vamp 10 is referred to as the base vamp since the surface or supplementary vamp 12 is fitted upon it, moving under the turned-back edges 11 2,948,070 Patented Aug. 9, 1960 to be clasped and held by them. The edges 11 of the base vamp 10 may or may not be of added thickness of self-composition, wired or provided with a flexible banding or similar device.

The surface (or supplementary) vamp 12 may have the turned-back or bound edge portions for engagement by the edges 11 of the base vamp and provides a finished appearance with the ends extending to the sole 13 of the sandal.

While only one embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, it is apparent that alterations, modifications and changes may be made therein without departing from the true scope and spirit thereof as set forth in appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A sandal comprising a sole, a pair of elongated pieces of flexible material connected throughout their lengths and having edge portions folded over, means securing the ends of said pieces to side edges of said sole, a completely removable decorative insert formed of material having substantially greater stiffness than the first said material and of a length to extend from one edge of the sole to the other and of a width to form a wide foot retaining means, the elongated side edges of said insert being disposed between the folded edge portions and the end edges engaging the adjoining edges of the sole, said insert affording both a finished appearance and a support for the first said flexible edge pieces.

2. A sandal comprising a sole, a heel, a pair of elongated pieces of flexible material connected throughout their lengths and having edge portions folded over, means securing the ends of said pieces to side edges of said sole, a completely removable, decorative: insert formed of a self-supporting material and of a length to extend from one edge of the sole to the other and of a width to form a wide foot retaining means, the elongated side edges of said insert being disposed between the folded edge portions and the end edges engaging the adjoining edges of the sole, said insert affording both a finished appearance and a support for the first said flexible edge ieces.

p 3. A sandal comprising a sole, a heel, a pair of elongated pieces of flexible material connected throughout their lengths and having edge portions folded over, means securing the ends of said pieces to side edges of said sole, a completely removable self supporting insert of a length to extend from one edge of the sole to the other and of a width to form a wide foot retaining means, the elongated side edges of said insert being disposed between the folded edge portions and the end edges engaging the adjoining edges of the sole, said insert affording both a finished appearance and a support for the first said flexible edge pieces.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,478,468 Binn et a1. Dec. 25, 1923 2,068,946 Ferguson Jan. 26, 1937 2,226,110 Bass Dec. 24, 1940 2,236,367 Gruber 1 Mar. 25, 1941 2,583,826 Fischer Ian. 29, 1952 

